Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to manually-drawn carts for transporting small loads, and more particularly to a light-weight, high-strength tow cart adapted to carry beach items such as picnic cold chests and beach chairs over sandy terrain.
By definition, a cart is a two-wheeled vehicle often used in farming or for transporting freight, the vehicle being drawn by a horse, a pony or even a dog.
In modern beach recreational facilities, the need often arises to transport beach chairs, a picnic cold chest a beach umbrella, apparel and other beach items from an automobile stationed in a parking lot adjacent the beach to a selected site. In some cases, this beach site may be as far as a half mile away from the parking lot.
A problem commonly experienced in a situation of this type is that while the typical small cart or wagon is normally capable of transporting a load over hard or paved surfaces, it is ill suited for travel over sand. Conventional cart wheels tend ro furrow the sand, particularly if the load is fairly heavy. Should the sand be quite soft, it then becomes very difficult, if not impossible, to pull the loaded cart.
And even if the cart is designed for beach use and is provided with balloon tires that present a relatively broad tread and have a lesser tendency to sink into soft sand, there is the problem of fitting a cart of this type into the trunk of an automobile or into whatever other storage space is available.
In the typical beach scenario which calls for the use of a tow cart, say, on a family picnic in which three or more members of a family use the family car to travel to the beach, space in the car is usually at a premium. Not only are the passenger seats occupied, but whatever other space remains is fairly well filled with picnic items. Since even a conventional small cart or wagon occupies a relatively large volume, it is often difficult to find space therefor in an already loaded family car.
A particular problem with conventional beach carts or wagons is the picnic cold chest, which takes the form of a large, thermally insulated box usually made of foam plastic material adapted to store food and liquid containers in a reduced temperature environment. The size of this chest is such that with a conventional cart, it pre-empts most of the available space, allowing little room for other necessary items. Also, with a conventional cart, it is difficult to harness the cold chest to the cart to prevent it from falling off when the cart travels over more or less rough terrain.